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It’s my fourth year doing Wrestlemania predictions and if I’ve learned anything from my time doing these it’s that the more wrong I am about results, the less people tend to enjoy the show. I’m not saying it’s because of my influence (ha! could you imagine?) but it has been interesting to see how the more unpredictable WWE’s booking gets, the less satisfied the audience can be. Especially in an age when WWE is constantly accused of being too predictable it seems it also has an equally large problem of booking which makes no sense. Anyway, this is just a side-tangent. Lets get guessing!

2017 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

This is always pot-luck. The natural inclination is to assume Big Show will win, especially as he has announced that his retirement is approaching. The problem is Vince McMahon has whatever the opposite of sentimentality is running through his bones. He also loves throwing in a surprise winner (see Zack Ryder from last year). I’m gonna go out on a limb for this one and say that this might be where our newest beast-on-the-block gets a chance to shine.

PREDICTION: Samoa Joe

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville vs. Austin Aries

Aries is a recent addition to the WWE roster (remember, they pretend NXT doesn’t exist) and a veteran in his position is often used to get younger talent over. On the other hand they’ve been handing around that Cruiserweight belt like it’s candy. Vince loves Neville, I’m gonna stick with him.

PREDICTION: Neville

SmackDown Women’s Championship Match

Hometown girl, returning from injury, back to claim the title she had to give up. If it’s not Naomi, they’ve lost their damn mind. The only chance of me being wrong, I think, is a certain Japanese destroyer showing up.

PREDICTION: Naomi

Raw Tag Team Champions Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Cesaro & Sheamus

Ladder matches are another type of match that could let anyone win but I’d hope that The Club retains, just to make them bigger bad guys. It would also work better for future title matches with other teams *coughNewDaycough*.

PREDICTION: The Club

Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose vs. Baron Corbin

I keep forgetting this match is happening. I think it’s the match I have the least interest in. I don’t know, lets say…

PREDICTION: Ambrose

John Cena & Nikki Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse

The build up to this fight has been a lot of fun but I wonder how intense of a match it will feel with the inter-gender element. Often tagging can slow things down as both sides have to change competitors and its been a long time since I’ve seen Maryse wrestle so who knows where her skills are at. Either way, a Cena/Bella win and a marriage proposal seems pretty nailed on.

PREDICTION: John Cena & Nikki Bella

United States Champion Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens

Big contender for what will be match of the night. It has a title on the line but more importantly friendship as we know it. That’s right, if Owens wins, friendships the world over will crumble. With Jericho notoriously due to leave for a musical interlude, it’s bad news for friends.

PREDICTION: Owens

Raw Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax (Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match)

The story seems to be leaning towards Sasha turning heel very soon. If that happens at Mania, there can be only one winner.

PREDICTION: Sasha Banks

Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles

Whoever wins, gravity loses. But dear god, please let it be AJ. Even WWE aren’t dumb enough to put a non-wrestler over one of their biggest stars, right? RIGHT?!

PREDICTION: AJ Styles

The Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns

Or as I like to call it, pee-break. I actually hate that this match is happening but if I have to choose, I hope big Roman puts a fist through the heart of The Undertaker and finally puts us all out of our misery. Men in their 50s should not be wrestling anymore.

PREDICTION: Reigns

Seth Rollins vs. Triple H (Non-Sanctioned Match)

The meat in our sandwich of old-men-versus-younger-men matches is going to be quite likely the only good one to watch. HHH can still go and hopefully Seth will be able to as well. Don’t be surprised if this turns into a run-in fiesta.

PREDICTION: Rollins via shenanigans

Universal Champion Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar

Oy vey. The only redeeming feature of this match is that it will most likely be short and logically can only be one winner. I think.

PREDICTION: Lesnar

WWE Champion Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton

Surprisingly this is probably the hardest one for me to pick a logical winner. Bray could win, but if so what was the point of Orton’s betrayal? And if Orton wins then what is he? A Heel or Face champion? AJ has to come for the winner in the following weeks and a battle with Bray would be much more interesting but sadly I don’t think WWE are thinking that far ahead.

PREDICTION: Orton

To figure out how to fix such a problem you have to look at why it’s happening and there are a few obvious reasons and a couple more subtle ones which might be harder to fix.

First of all, changes need to be made to his image.

Whether he likes it or not, Roman Reigns has resting smug face. It’s just how his features are built. He may not be thinking he’s better than everyone and everything but unfortunately when he cracks that smirk of his, it’s what comes across. People react to that, sometimes only subconsciously, but they do.

It’s hard to like a guy who is that big, athletic, and good looking if it appears that he has an attitude. Especially when he’s being as pushed as hard as he is. The average wrestling fan is a working class schlub. They want to either root for an underdog or identify with a protagonist. It’s hard to believe that a specimen like Reigns could ever be conceived as an underdog when he clearly won the genetic lottery.

Secondly, they need to progress his character’s style.

Letting Roman keep both The Shield’s entrance music and crowd-walk-through was a designed effort by WWE to transpose the popularity for The Shield on to him. Unfortunately it has backfired. Instead of us thinking “I love The Shield and I love Roman Reigns” it has more of an effect of ” I miss The Shield”.

You may think I’m crazy with that but think about all the times that the music hits, the crowd cheers only to slowly turn in to boos. It’s not because the people who dislike Roman are slower to make noise. It’s because The Shield’s music elicits a pavlovian response of excitement. That group was more over than anything the WWE purposefully pushed in the last 10 years. People remember and instinctively cheer for that. But then they remember that it’s not The Shield and it’s Roman instead and that happiness turns to disappointment which then turns to resentment.

His gear is almost exactly the same too. It’s all reminding people of something they can’t have. Rollins kept his garment style but wore different colours like the sweet white and gold ensemble, changed his attitude and music. Ambrose now wrestles in street gear, changed his entrance and enhanced his in-ring persona. People got behind both those performers after The Shield split because they progressed. Roman has remained stale.

Roman’s place at the big show remains a problem because WWE make such a big deal of it.

Because WWE treats Wrestlemania unlike any other PPV and claims that it’s the “Super Bowl of wrestling” it’s making a statement every time they book their card for it. They’re making a league table almost and positioning their superstars accordingly to how they value them. Knowing that their biggest stars, or at least who they think their biggest stars are, will be the main event means it’s a time when both WWE and the audience have a chance to evaluate who that might be. For the past number of years the WWE and the audience have disagreed on Roman’s placement.

This wouldn’t necessarily be a problem normally. There have been plenty of pay-per-views headlined by odd or underwhelming matches but again, “this is Wrestlemania season”. The importance is placed so highly that the viewer’s feelings increase too. And if they’re unhappy with the main-event for the biggest show of the year that feeling will carry throughout the rest of it.

It’s a resentment thing. I’ll reiterate my point from earlier because I honestly think it’s the crux of the issue. The vast majority of grown-up wrestling fans are working class people who haven’t caught a break in life and watch wrestling to forget their troubles. If our main protagonist is a man who has everything it’s hard to root for him.

Kids are different. They want larger-than-life figures, they want indestructible heroes, they want someone who can seemingly do anything. They, understandably, love Roman. But they’re not as loud in an arena as the grown men. And after a while it gets embarrassing to have the face of the company be consistently booed when he wins matches.

If they just changed things up a little, even make him a heel for a while, I think things could change significantly but WWE are a stubborn bunch and the “Roman Empire” is their agenda for now.

There is a weird thing that happens the first RAW after Wrestlemania. All the hardcore fans who save up to go to the biggest show of the year hang around and go to the show the night after. Grown-ups. With jobs. Folks who have been fans all their lives. Folks, who aren’t always happy with what WWE have been doing lately. And the RAW show seems to be where they make their points.

Last year, we saw the “YES!” chant begin. The discontent with how Daniel Bryan was being treated, especially after losing his title in an 18 second match to a man who isn’t exactly universally liked, was being shown in a way that couldn’t be ignored. The whole show was being dominated by “YES!” chants. Now keep in mind, this wasn’t a thing before, this was the very first night we saw it. The fans homed in on something that Daniel did on the way to the ring, embraced it, and it became a rallying cry. It dominated promos from The Rock and also John Cena (to the point where both had to acknowledge it). They started to chant “¡SI!” for Del Rio. Daniel didn’t even perform that night on RAW but they put him in a dark match at the end. Here is what happened at the end of that match.

I like to think those fans changed some of the thinking back-stage. Bryan got a huge push since and is still part of most of the big happenings in the company now. And it’s well deserved, I must add.

Well, this year it was no different. I think there was 1 main moment where I think the amazing New Jersey crowd managed to make a point that I think was important, and one long moment where I think they were just having fun.

1) Dolph Ziggler

By far, THE biggest pop of the night was Dolph fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinally cashing it in.

It’s been a long wait, but hopefully this will once-and-for-all legitimize Dolph as a top drawer talent. For years now, smart fans have been telling anyone who will listen that Dolph Ziggler is one of the best wrestlers in the industry. The guy has had to job for everyone and has been amazing doing it. He has all the skills but just not the opportunity. Fans have been getting ravenous waiting for him to cash in the Money In The Bank contract and when he finally did it he got not only the biggest reception of RAW but of the whole Wrestlemania weekend. Now, all I can do is pray that the boys in the back took notice and acts accordingly.

2) Fandango

You know, I’ve enjoyed Fandango. Before the name change, when he was just Johnny Curtis, he always impressed me on NXT as the guy who deserved a shot. When I found out his shot required a gimmick change, this gimmick change in particular, I thought “well, that’s the end of that guy”. This ballroom dancer schtick had “dead end” written all over it. But somehow he managed to find something fun with it and I’ve genuinely laughed at some of the “Faaaaaaahn-daaaaaahng-goooooo” antics.

Now, was the fans chanting his theme tune through half the show an endorsement of his excellence? No, it was fans just trying to have fun but hopefully it will give the guy a chance with what would have otherwise been a no-hoper. They did more for him in one night than WWE Creative did in 6 months.

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Much like last year, the post show promo (this time delivered by John Cena) had to address the crowd and particularly their reactions for both of the guys above.

But what does this mean for the future? It’s hard to tell. Like I said before, I hope this solidifies Ziggler’s place in the company the way it has for Bryan. But I think it emphasizes something else.

The vast majority of the crowd were above the age of 21. Any regular watcher of the WWE product will note that the opposite is the norm. 12 year olds often dominate the RAW and Smackdown crowds. The problem is, the crowds have been dead for far too long. Deathly quiet arenas have stagnated a product long overdue for an overhaul. The PG experiment has been divisive and while I think it’s probably been a positive as a whole they need to get some more grown ups back in to fill some seats and make some noise because wrestling is nothing without the crowd.

If only we could have this crowd every week.

This might turn into a bit of a rant so bear with me. Obviously if you haven’t seen the Rumble yet don’t read an article about it.

Last night saw the most predictable WWE Pay-Per-View in recent memory. This current story-line setting up the “twice in a lifetime” Cena/Rock confrontation at Wrestlemania was sign-posted months ago and the inevitability of it all is tough to take.

Looking at it objectively it’s not a bad story. The company boy Cena lost his must-win match to The Rock at Wrestlemania last year and now he has a chance to redeem himself, and for the title no less. But the problem is this story requires the belt to be in the hands of a part-timer and there are some real issues with that for most fans like myself. It all boils down to respect.

Going back to Wrestlemania last year, The Rock’s win over Cena was a shock. John Cena was the WWE’s star. They placed the company on his shoulders completely and weren’t shy about doing so. While The Rock was in a similar position himself ten years ago, he was now a Hollywood actor and would make an appearance in the WWE once every year or two. To the outsider, for the actor to win would be ridiculous. To let the actor beat their star man would make him look weak and bury him as a legitimate top wrestler. But the WWE didn’t seem to think that way. So The Rock is still seen as the bigger star or they thought Cena was so over that they couldn’t hurt him. Either way it seemed bizarre at the time.

At that very same Pay-Per-View, CM Punk was in the early stages of what would eventually be the longest WWE Title reign in over 25 years. The longest title reign in my lifetime. And his whole reign was about “respect” and how the title was more important than anything else. He brought legitimacy to the belt which was previously being handed around like a parcel at a kids party. He did this, for 434 days, despite being habitually given bad time slots and little air-time. And for the WWE fans who had become disillusioned with the current WWE product, he was a rallying point. He was what the company could be and in many ways what it needs to become if it’s to stay alive.

Punk’s loss to Rock wasn’t a shock like it was with Cena as we could all see it coming, especially the moment that Cena won the Rumble. You could see the cogs moving in Vince McMahon’s brain from miles away. But despite it’s obviousness it was nevertheless still galling to see the belt being handed to a part-time wrestler. To a man who won’t be showing up to house-shows on tour and to a man who won’t be wrestling again until the next Pay-Per-View. He’ll only defend his belt once until he eventually loses to Cena at Wrestlemania.

At the end of the day, wrestling is a business and this a money driven decision. As far as Vince is concerned this was a no-brainer. But sometimes I think you need to worry about the image you’re presenting and the legacy of your business’ top prize. The Rumble was predictable but it doesn’t mean it was right.

I try to stay out of the prediction game as much as possible. Far too often I’ll be wrong and made to look foolish. However, as this weekend the WWE will be having it’s biggest night of the year, I figure just this once I might as well throw my hat in the ring and predict some results. Although, with the card we’ve got… there won’t be many surprises.

Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounos vs. Divas Champion Beth Phoenix & Eve

No-one cares.

Winner: Kelly Kelly and that other lady
Via: Roll-up Pin

Randy Orton vs. Kane

Ironically enough, Kane couldn’t buy heat in a match these days. His “embrace hate” run with Cena was just creepy and sad while this is… nothing. Randy Orton always looks bored and his last decent feud was with Christian (trust me when I say, Christian carried that whole thing too). So this is meaningless in the scheme of things.

I feel like there are going to be a lot of baby-face winners on the night though so this might be the place to throw in a heel win.

Winner: Kane
Via: Count Out (I know it’s a long shot but they rarely let people pin Orton)

Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny

There is a lot of great talent involved in this match. So many of these guys could have given us individually good matches. Kofi, R-Truth, Mark Henry, Ziggler, all great, So despite Khali and Otunga (who is starting to grow on me as a heel) being there I do think this could be a fun match. In fact, now that Booker T is involved I’m actually going to put myself out on a limb and say “I’m looking forward to this one”.

Shocking, I know.

However, the outcome is pretty nailed on. Despite my love for Teddy Long and his ridiculous “holla” antics, I think we all know Big Johnny is walking away with the win.

Winner: Team Johnny
Via: Illegal Pin that the ref doesn’t see

Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show

Cody has had the belt for a long time, so he is due to drop it soon. Big Show is the first real threat to his reign in my eyes as he’s the highest ranked opponent he’s had. And with so much emphasis of their match revolving around Wrestlemania itself, I really feel like an upset is on the cards and Big Show will win it.

I don’t think he’s right for the belt and I don’t think he’ll have it for very long. In fact, I’m sure he’ll drop it by the next Pay Per View but I really feel it in my waters. Personally, I don’t think it’s a bad idea in the scheme of things. They need to renew interest in the belt and a little more competition for it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Plus, it might just push Rhodes onto better things afterwards and that can only be good.

Winner: Big Show
Via: Pin

World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus

It’s a real shame (or “a shameful thing”…) that these guys didn’t get enough air-time to hype up this one. Sheamus is the Royal Rumble winner and so by default we should be excited for this one but it’s been a lame-duck from the start purely based on the fact that they’re rarely in the same room together.

But, Bryan has built up a good heel act for himself with AJ and Sheamus has been steamrolling everyone for months. They’re both good in the ring so hopefully we get a great match to watch. It’s hard to call but I feel like this is going to be a title change.

Winner: Sheamus
Via: Pin

WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho

These guys have brought the best out of eachother recently. It’s just a shame we haven’t seen Jericho in the ring more during the build up but it’s his absence which convinces me there can only be one winner in this one.

Winner: CM Punk
Via: Submission

The Undertaker vs. Triple H (Hell in a Cell Match with special referee Shawn Michaels)

If the WWE screw Undertaker out of his 20-0 I will be shocked beyond repair. However, we all know that’s not going to happen. Shawn’s involvement reeks of Triple H’s backstage clique striking again for a pay day but it may just be creative’s attempt at making the result not-so-straight-forward. Hopefully this will be the send off ‘Taker deserves.

Winner: Undertaker
Via: Pin

John Cena vs. The Rock

John Cena’s recent rants about “I have to win this” rang true in more ways than one. He has out performed The Rock in the promos (devastatingly so) and he’ll be Vince’s favourite after Wrestlemania too so I can’t see him jobbing to Rocky when he seems to have a real personal beef with him outside of the ring.

The only thing that makes me nervous about my pick is that it’s Rocky’s hometown and if he’s coming back for one big match, losing in his hometown will be a surprisingly humble thing for him to do.

Winner: John Cena
Via: Pin

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Those are my picks. If you want to share your own leave them in the comments and we’ll see how we all get on after Sunday night. Good luck!

In what has become an unstoppable growing beast of promo on RAW, the John Cena vs. The Rock match at Wrestelemania is building up with aplomb. We all expected this to happen, in what was an unusual step, they announced the match a year ago. They’re obviously hoping this “generation versus generation” fight will sell some Pay-Per-View tickets. What we probably weren’t expecting though was how this promo battle has been going.

For one, it has been much more personal than anyone could have realized.

If you have been listening to any interviews from wrestlers over the last few years, it is pretty obvious that the majority of the locker room has a real problem with retired wrestlers coming back for one big pay cheque at Wrestlemania, stealing what they consider to be their spot/limelight. It’s understandable. These guys on the roster do regular work everynight at house shows and tapings week in and week out having to endure all the troubles of life on the road. If someone who doesn’t do that work turns up and steals the show at a big event… it would stick in your craw.

John Cena has gone on record to say this sort of thing in the past and, in what seems to be an ever increasing trend on RAW, has decided to shoot about this in his build up to Wrestlemania. This is a brave move for a couple of reasons. First of all the fans love Rock, and considering Cena’s already rocky relationship with the crowd (no pun intended) they could have turned on him further. The WWE still don’t want a heel Cena. It’s also brave because Rock isn’t a wrestler any more. He doesn’t need this. He has legitimately become bigger than the WWE and if you push his buttons enough, one can only assume he won’t come back. So I have to say, I thought it was ballsy of Cena to take this angle and I did not expect that from a guy who has been sailing along for quite some time in the company.

But most of all, what no-one saw coming is that Rock is losing. Badly.

Like I said before, Dwayne Johnson is no longer a wrestler. He’s a successful movie star. And, concordantly, he’s rusty in the ring. It was evident two weeks ago when he came back and did a rather meandering, boring promo. It was even more evident when Cena pipe-bombed him with the comment about the notes written on Rock’s wrist.

This was embarrassing for all involved. It was clear that it has also hit a nerve with Rocky. He was flustered and visibly agitated directly afterwards and this week on RAW stepped up his game. Unfortunately his game is still sidelined to pre-recorded pieces but these taped sections genuinely reminded me of the Rocky of old. Attitude era cursing and all.

As a side note: I don’t mind the cursing at all and in a way I miss it a little but it really stood out on a show that has been doing it’s best to stay kid friendly. The fact that they let Rock away with it so much goes to show the amount of sway he has with Vince and must have been something Rock argued for.

So at the moment it definitely seems like Rock’s back is against the wall. There is more than just a big money match at stake here. Essentially it’s Rock’s reputation on the line now. At the moment he’s looking foolish in front of the fans that adore him but as everyone knows, WWE fans are some of the most fickle in the world. That adoration could turn to derision very quickly unless he improves quickly. Wrist memos and taped segments on the street are not going to cut it.

It’s going to make for a very interesting run up to Wrestlemania.